gas piston AR-15 upgrade- worth the $ ?

my gray matter ^ | 1-22-09 | Wobbly Bob

[WOBBLY BOB]

gas piston AR-15 upgrade- worth the $ ?

if so, why? why aren't the military picking it up too ?

[Neoliberalnot]

I actually but a rifle in leiu of a ring and we have been married 30 plus years. I won’t make any pejorative comments, but you have certainly filled the magazine with many possibilities. LOL

[MD_Willington_1976]

Okay we can beat on you

it is a MAGAZINE... not a clip..

okay

I’m done!

LOL

[SJSAMPLE]

+87

[jospehm20]

I have both the ACOG TAO1NSN and the Eotech 512. They are both great for their intended uses. I like the back up iron sights on my ACOG for very close in use.

[xsrdx]

The reason the AR-15 M16/M4 platform is unreliable without ultra cleanliness or an armorer standing-by, is because of the lack of a gas-piston.

Gas piston-envy arose owing to combo of short gas system and full auto operation unique to military M4A1 carbine.

The "platform" is most assuredly reliable absent the condtions you state, even in M4 guise, and the benefit of a gas piston under sustained semiauto functioning is negligible.

[JamesP81]

FAL is a my dream .308. Wonder if I'll ever own one now.

308 autoloaders are hellishly expensive. ~$1800 for an M1A Loaded model. ~$1700 for a DS Arms FAL. DSA sells some Austrian FALs for around $1200, but that's still exorbitant, IMO. The FN SCAR rifles are scarce right now due to high demand. Some of those are selling for over $4000 right now. An AR-10 type will run you about $1200 for a base model.

Even the Saiga 7.62x51 rifles are getting close to a thousand dollars. They can still be had for $800, but I refuse to pay $800 for a new production AK chambered for 308 Winchester.

[JamesP81]

Also, if you’re interested in gas piston guns, the Armalite AR-180 is worth a look.

[Neoliberalnot]

I actually BOUGHT a rifle in leiu of a ring and we have been married 30 plus years. I won’t make any pejorative comments, but you have certainly filled the magazine with many possibilities. LOL Sorry for the error. I was laughing.

[I Buried My Guns]

I am not a gun expert (or even competent), but I built an AR from scratch. Most of the parts are from disparate companies.

It has never worked quite right, seizing up after about 60-80 rounds when it gets hot. It just does not want to expel the brass.

Anyway, I had it with me at the gun show the other day and folks were walking up to me left and right asking if I wanted to sell it.

Even though it is a crummy rifle, I just could not part with it.

My query to the wise gun FReepers: Will a fancy aftermarkeet bolt assembly mitigate the problem of seizing? I see them in chrome and titanium, I think. They look fancy.

[absolootezer0]

check into the burris stuff. they just came out with a neat little system. its a 3x magnifier to go with a dot scope, and you can get a flip off mount.
i haven’t seen it in use but it looks pretty spiffy.

http://burrisoptics.com/newproducts.html

[org.whodat]

if so, why? why aren't the military picking it up too ?

They are going to replace the ar-15"

[WOBBLY BOB]

does it do that with ALL brands of ammo?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I had a collection of a dozen “boy's rifles,” mostly Remingtons from the 1920s and 30s. I sold them to help with the down payment for a new house back in ‘93. Saw some like I had at a gun shop last week for $700 a piece...

[thinkthenpost]

Fulton Armory makes a little D-Ring that goes under the extractor over the spring. Also a #60(I think) O-Ring from a hardware store's plumbing department help mine. The gun wouldn't extract, seldom made it through a magazine. I've fired over 300 rounds now and it works much better. Go to AR-15.com and look around the forums for extraction and feeding problems.

[I Buried My Guns]

"does it do that with ALL brands of ammo?"

Yes; I opted out of Wolf brand a long time ago. I use Winchester and Sellier & Bellot (sp?).

I know to keep it good and clean, and dry of all oil. That is the extent of my AR wisdom right there.

Here is a photo; it is the one at the top nearest the cat.

[Man from Oz]

Thanks! I was looking at a EOTech at Cabelas this past weekend. It retailed @ $425... about 1/2 to 1/3 the price of a ACOG

[Atlas Sneezed]

Advice:

Go to www.essentialarms.com

Buy three stripped lower receivers for $100 each.

Let Obama ban them. Sell two for $500 each (or wait some more until they are $1000).

Buy the upper and parts and build your rifle for $700 more.

Free rifle!

[Atlas Sneezed]

1. The cost is enormous. The sum total of parts in a gas-operated AR approaches $3000-$4000 when all is said and done.

---

You are way, WAY off on this.

Building your own can lower the cost compared to a complete rifles, and nice complete rifles start at under $800.

[Charles Martel]

It has never worked quite right, seizing up after about 60-80 rounds when it gets hot. It just does not want to expel the brass.

Do you have one of those tiny blue or black rubber buffers in the middle of the extractor spring? Sounds like you need more extractor tension; the buffers help with that. There's a D-shaped rubber piece that you can get which surrounds the extractor spring, too - same function.

Unless your bolt and/or carrier is somehow binding, I don't see how replacing those parts will help. Make sure your bolt's gas rings are in good shape, too - remove the assembly and pull the bolt to its forward-most position, then stand the bolt/carrier assembly on the bolt face. If the carrier slides down under its own weight, you need new gas rings.

One other thing - have you fired the cheap Russian ammo with lacquered steel cases in that rifle? If so, your chamber might need a good scrubbing.

[JamesP81]

Even though it is a crummy rifle, I just could not part with it.

What brands of parts are you using? Not all are created equal.

By seize up, do you mean it jams, or does the bolt carrier actually get stuck in the receiver to where it won't physically move?